Thursday, March 15, 2012

Good bloggers succeed

We blog to get people to read our work, and it takes time to build a following. You have something to say, and a free platform with a blog, which writers never had even a few years ago. As a blogger, you start by starting - create a blog, and share it.

If your writing is good and you're consistent, people will visit and return to your blog. You need only to provide compelling posts on your topic and keep up the momentum so visitors are rewarded when they return to see what's new. Then use that momentum to move you forward in wider circles.

As a result of my book and blog here at Release Your Writing, I now share advice for writers on the Freelance-Zone blog.

Several major magazines, including Health Magazine and Cooking Light, have been featuring good bloggers in their print magazine, and sending a wide audience to read the work of these people. Big print media is singling out bloggers who show talent and, promoting their blogs. This is a remarkable opportunity for writers who want to move to well-paying magazine markets. In fact, if you want magazine freelance work, the first place editors look for your writing samples is your own blog.

Another success story is Lois Roelofs, a member of Off-Campus Writers Workshop (OCWW). Based loosely on her book Caring Lessons, her blog is the strongest part of her platform. Now she has added to her visibility with a blog book tour at WOW! Women on Writing in addition to maintaining her blog. She grew into this step-by-step-by-step, starting as she says, because she heard about: "WOW through SheWrites, and SheWrites from Helen at OCWW!" And, Lois says she would not have started her blog without my encouragement.

Can I urge you to do the same? Put enough effort into your blog that you begin to see it as a communication tool, a place to showcase your writing, and to increase your visibility. Link it to your other social media outlets, and good things will happen...

About Me

Helen Gallagher is a national speaker and publishing consultant. Today, her thriving consulting practice is augmented by her writing on business and technology, with over 100 articles in major business and trade publications.
Just for fun, to celebrate ten years in business, Helen wrote her first book: "Computer Ease," selected by Forbes.com Book Club, and winner of a non-fiction award from the Illinois Women's Press Association (IWPA) in 2006. Helen is a contributor to Lonely Planet's Travelers Tales book, "The World is a Kitchen". Her essay won the IWPA award in 2007. Her 2007 book "Release Your Writing: Book Publishing Your Way" helps writers find the path to their dream of getting published. "Release Your Writing" is a USA Book News Award finalist. Helen's newest book "Blog Power & Social Media Handbook" hit store shelves in August 2010.
Helen's freelance writing appears in national magazines and numerous online sites. She is also a book reviewer for BlogCritics Magazine, OpenSalon.com and New York Journal of Books.
Helen supports organizations that support writers: member of ASJA, IWWG, OCWW, MWA, SPAWN.ORG